DMR, McPhillips Lead No. 3 Women's Track and Field In Pair of Meets

- The Lead: The No. 3 ranked MIT women's track and field team posted a number of times ranked among the national leaders as the Engineers competed at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational and the Gordon Kelly Invitational over the weekend. Leading the way was the No. 2 time in the country by the distance medley relay, along with a tremendous performance by sophomore Marissa McPhillips (Narragansett, R.I.) in the 800 meters.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

David Hemery Valentine Invitational - On Friday, McPhillips continued her outstanding indoor season as she ran a PR of 2:12.90 to win her heat of the 800. The time is No. 3 on the MIT all-time list and ranks fourth in the nation this year. Junior Bailey Tregoning (Frederick, Md.) ran a time of 2:15.75, which is her season-best and is currently 19th nationally. Freshman Katie Williams (Papillion, Neb.) is 25th in the country with a PR of 2:16.38, while sophomore Skylar Brooks (Morgantown, W.Va.) rounded out the 800m group with a PR of 2:22.96 to finish sixth in her section

- Sophomore Katie Bacher (Macungie, Pa.) finished third in her heat in the mile with a time of 5:00.16, which is 19th nationally. Sophomore Jenna Melanson (Woodland, Wash.) ran 10:24.56 in the 3,000 meters, while sophomore Margaret Trautner (Houston, Texas) ran a PR of 2:55.87 in the 1,000 to win her heat and rank fourth on the MIT all-time list. Freshman Gabrielle Enns (Chandler, Ariz.) also competed in the 1,000 as she crossed in 3:09.73.

- Senior Hannah Chen (Los Gatos, Calif.) was fifth in her section of the 400 meters in 57.77, while she also ran a time of 26.09 in the 200 meters. Sophomore Michelle Menkiti (Houston, Texas) won her heat of the 200 in a time of 25.92, which is her second-fastest indoor time.

- On Saturday morning, the MIT distance medley relay team of Bacher, Chen, Tregoning and McPhillips finished third in a time of 11:43.54. The time is ranked No. 2 in the nation and is .05 behind the team from Bowdoin.

Gordon Kelly Invitational - In the pole vault, freshman Jacqueline Ahrens (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) shattered the MIT rookie record and posted the No. 4 performance on the all-time list as she cleared 12 feet, 8.25 inches. She finished second overall and is currently ranked fourth in the country. Junior Kari Stromhaug (Vestal, N.Y.) was fourth overall, five all-time at MIT and fifth in the nation this year as she cleared 12 feet, 6.25 inches on Saturday.

- Senior All-American Nneoma Okonkwo (Lagos, Nigeria) won the long jump at 18 feet, five inches to rank 10th nationally. She was followed by Haley Strouf (Rice Lake, Wis.), who finished second at 18 feet, 3.25 inches and is also ranked 10th in the country from a previous meet.

- Senior Ariela Slutsky (Weston, Fla.) won the weight throw in 56 feet, 8.25 inches to rank No. 2 on the MIT all-time list and currently sit 11th in the country. In the triple jump, Jasmine Jin (Fanchang, China) won the event at 37 feet, 6.75 inches to rank 16th in the nation with her personal best, while freshman Lucy Lee (Potomac, Md.) was third at 34 feet, 4.25 inches.

- Junior Kristen Frombach (Lumberton, N.J.) won the 400 meters at 1:02.14, while Okonkwo finished second in the 60 meters at 8.08. Freshman Dhamanpreet Kaur (Renton, Wash.) finished second in the mile with a time of 5:30.03, while senior Clementine Mitchell (Glasgow, Scotland) was fourth in 5:35.74. Freshman Emily Freel (Alamo, Calif.) also finished fourth in the 3,000 meters as she crossed in 11:03.58.

UP NEXT:

- MIT is back in action on February 16-17 as the Engineers travel to Springfield College for the New England Division III Indoor Championship.